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Veneto woman is first in Italy to be fitted with a bionic hand

A woman from Veneto is the first Italian to be fitted with a bionic hand.

Published: 4 January 2018 16:17 CET

Veneto woman is first in Italy to be fitted with a bionic hand

Stock image/Depositphotos

Almerina Mascarello, who lost her hand in a workplace accident in 1993, was fitted with the prosthetic as part of a six-month experiment at Rome’s Policlinico Gemelli hospital in June 2016.

The hand, which has a sense of touch, was built by a team led by professor Silvestro Micera from Pisa’s Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies and the Polytechnic of Lausanna.

“The hand is an improved version of one fitted onto a Danish man in 2014,” Micera was quoted by Corriere as saying.

During the experiment, Mascarello was able to use the hand beyond a laboratory thanks to the technology required to make it work being small enough to put into a backpack. But it was removed after six months as it was a prototype. The 55-year-old, from the town of Montecchio Precalcino, told Ansa she was looking forward to May when a bionic hand specially made for her is expected to arrive.

“Only then will I be able to say that my life has been completely changed,” she added.

Micera said that the technology includes a system which registers the movement of muscles, translating them into electrical signals, which are turned into a set of commands for the bionic hand.

Sensors can detect whether an object is hard or soft, while the information is transported to the recipient’s brain via tiny electrodes implanted in upper arm nerves.

The prototype has been tested on several people from several European countries, with each operation costing several thousand euros.

Italy's booming Prosecco production is 'unsustainable', say researchers

The UK and US are Italy's biggest export markets for Prosecco. Photo: Giuseppe Cacace/AFP

The boom in prosecco production in recent years may be an environmental hazard, as it is contributing to the erosion of some 400 million kiograms of soil every year, according to a new study of Italy's biggest prosecco-producing regions by the University of Padua.

Letting too much earth wash away with rain and irrigation could jeopardize the future of the region’s vineyards, which produce 446 million bottles of prosecco every year, 90 million bottles of which are for export.

The research looked at three of Veneto's biggest Prosecco-producing areas, incluidng the Conegliano Valdobbiadene area.

READ ALSO: Brexit could make Prosecco pricier for British buyers, Italian winemakers warn

The research found the prosecco industry was responsible for 74 percent of the region’s total soil erosion, and estimated that the “soil footprint”, or amount of soil lost, for the production of each bottle is about 3.3 kilograms.

“The soil is a non-renewable resource.” states the report. “A territory like the Prosecco area gives excellent results from an economic point of view, but this level of production in the long run will hardly be sustainable “.

Prosecco vineyards could reduce their soil loss, the scientists say. One solution — leaving grass between vineyard rows — would cut total erosion in half, simulations show.

Other strategies could include planting hedges around vineyards or vegetation by rivers and streams to prevent soil from washing away.

Prosecco is more popular thn ever before. Photo: Depositphotos

Demand from abroad for the famous Italian fizz is higher than ever before. Last year's figures show record-breaking sparkling wine sales abroad valued at over 1.5 billion.

Much of that was Prosecco, but the figures included sales of other Italian sparkling wines such as Asti or Franciacorta, which are less well-known outside of Italy.

The UK ranks as the biggest market for Italian sparkling wines, followed by the US and Germany.

Repubblica wrote that rthere have been numerous “false reports” about Prosecco in the British press, which it said had “launched an attack” after the commercial success of prosecco “caused beer sales to drop in the pubs of Great Britain.”

It quoted the president of the Veneto Region, Luca Zaia, as saying British are “purely envious” of Italian prosecco.

Zaia, a controversial figure, has previously dismissed negative reports about Prosecco as “fake news” and “the umpteenth Anglo Saxon crusade against Italian products.”

Italian wines in general are undergoing a difficult period in their relations with the UK. Producers and stakeholders alike have expressed fears regarding how Brexit could affect Italy's wine industry.

READ ALSO:

US vows to put tariffs on products including Italian olive oil, prosecco and pecorino cheese
Why Italy wants Unesco heritage status for its Prosecco hills
Can Prosecco help Italy finally crack the Chinese wine market?

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